This invention is directed to a single user input mechanism for controlling the operations of an electronic device.
Some existing electronic devices can be controlled using several input mechanisms. For example, some personal media players, such as the iPod, include a scrolling mechanism and one or more buttons (e.g., a click-wheel) for controlling operations of the media player. As another example, some communications devices such as cellular telephones, may include several keys for dialing telephone numbers, initiating calls, and ending calls.
Typically, the input mechanism of an existing electronic device may be operative to control several device operations. In some embodiments, the electronic device may be coupled with a remote input device that includes, for example, one input mechanism for controlling a single electronic device operation (e.g., a rotary dial for controlling the volume of a personal electronic device), or a small number of input mechanisms (e.g., two or three buttons) for controlling a small number of electronic device operations (e.g., one button for play/pause, and one button for next). Because each of the input mechanisms controls only a single electronic device operation, the many input mechanisms may be bulky, expensive, and complex to create and to use.
It would be desirable, therefore, to provide a single, unique input mechanism by which a user may control several electronic device operations. It would also be desirable to provide a unique input mechanism by which a user can control many diverse, and unrelated electronic device operations.